Daily Devotions
Leprosy & Sin
Reading for January 31st: Leviticus 11-13
"The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp."
Leviticus 13:45-46
There are fates that are worse than death. Leprosy would qualify as one of those.
Nothing could have been worse than leprosy in ancient Israel. It was painful. It was a slow and certain death sentence. But it was more than that. To the Israelite, leprosy was uncleanness. It was loneliness. It forced you to live in a leper colony (where you would be surrounded with other dying people like yourself). It took you from your community, your friends, and your family. Indeed, it was a fate worse than death.
There are some obvious parallels between leprosy and sin.
- Sin is painful. It hurts you and those you love (Prov 4:19; 13:15).
- Sin is deadly. It takes away your life (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:1).
- Sin makes you unclean. It stains, pollutes, and makes you loathsome (Prov 6:16-19; Rev 22:11).
- Sin makes you lonely. Selfishness cuts us off from others and makes us alone with our addiction, alone with our unrestrained passions and desires, alone with our most coveted idol: ourselves (Gal 5:19-21).
But Jesus came to touch and heal sinners. He takes away the pain and gives life to our mortal bodies (Rom 8:11). He cleanses us and reconnects us with a family by teaching us how to deny ourselves (Rom 12:9-21).
Father, thank you for sending your Son into the leper colony to touch and to heal us!
